This will be my first summer, ever, not to wear a bikini. At 61 I’m packing them away and moving into a tankini. Really sad when I have put in the effort to stay fit my whole life…and my skin betrays me!

(To quote an unsympathetic aquaintance, “Quit bitching, I haven’t been able to wear one for 30 years!”   Well, sorry, but did you do the work in order to be able to?)

Now for something completely different: this wonderful poster from www.BadGirlArt.com (on Facebook, too.)

To stay on point, I read an article in InStyle magazine where Salma Hayek said, “You’ve got to take who you are and love who you are and do the best you can with what you’ve got. That goes for the figure, and it goes for everything else.”  She wished she could say that whatever effort she makes, she makes for herself.  And that’s the place I always want to come from…I do this for myself. I eat fresh, healthy food, I exercize and drink a lot less than I’d like to in order to feel well, and keep as clear a mind as is possible!

There are still a lot of things I want to do, and I want to have the energy to do them, and look good in the process!  One of my first  food teachers (going back over 20 years ago) told me that if I ate well 75% of the time, I could do what I wanted the other 25%.

People think I don’t eat…or that I deprive myself. Au contraire!   I just eat real, whole, nutritious food and treat myself to things like enchiladas and margaritas about once a week. I pass on pasta, resist rice, skip spaghetti, and I’ve banished bread (love it…allergic to wheat!).  I don’t drink every day (and I don’t know how I survive!). I eat 70% dark chocolate. And I eat and drink tons of fruit and veggies!  I don’t need to diet….good food is it’s own reward!  If  you want to know more about making some changes, check out:  www.marksdailyapple.com for his Primal Lifestyle.  It’s a great reference and inspirational site. 

If my scale goes up a couple of pounds…too many cocktails, chips and dips…I clean up my act for a few days and I’m feeling good as new. Don’t let that 5 lbs. turn into 10, 20, then 30!  (I know I have some men that read this, shout out to you! )  We are in charge of what we do with our life…there’s a lot of lack-of-responsibility going around these days, and there’s not a damned thing that I find sexy about it!  At this point in time, everyone knows what’s good for us and what’s bad. If we aren’t making those choices, then that’s a choice in itself. Be honest. Or -make a different choice -choose yourself!  Beginning today, become the best you that you can be. It’s never too late to start…if you don’t want next year to be just the same as this one!  Remember to live, love and laugh along the way.  And a shot of tequila wouldn’t hurt, either!

Cheers,

XO Donna